Joseph Ngalula Mpandajila (born 12 December 1928) is a Congolese writer and politician.
Joseph Ngalula | |
|---|---|
 Joseph Ngalula in the 1980s | |
| Minister of Education of the Republic of the Congo | |
| In office August 1961 – April 1963 | |
| Prime Minister | Cyrille Adoula |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 December 1928 Lusambo, Belgian Congo |
Biography edit
Joseph Ngalula was born on 12 December 1928 in Lusambo, Belgian Congo to a Baluba family. He undertook six years of primary education and five years of professional courses.[1] He was fluent in English and French.[2] In June 1960 Barthélemy Mukenge was elected President of Kasai Province by the provincial assembly. Unhappy with the results, on 14 June the assembly opposition declared their own provincial government under Ngalula. On 16 June 1960 Ngalula was appointed Kasai Minister of Economic Affairs by Mukenge without consultation.[3] On 9 August Albert Kalonji declared that the south-eastern region of the province was seceding to form the Autonomous State of South Kasai and appointed Ngalula its Prime Minister.[4] In July 1961 the relationship between the two deteriorated, and Ngalula was driven into exile.[5] Since he had been the person chiefly responsible for the organisation of the state, South Kasai's administration broke down following his departure.[6] He subsequently established his own political party, the Democratic Union, to oppose the Kalonjists.[7] In August 1961 he was appointed Minister of Education under Prime Minister Cyrille Adoula. He held the post until April 1963.[8]
Ngalula was one of the Members of Parliament who signed an open letter to Zaire's President Mobutu Sese Seko in 1980.[9] Later, he co-founded the opposition party UDPS, together with Étienne Tshisekedi, Marcel Lihau, and others. Because of his engagement in the political opposition to Mobutu, he was imprisoned, banished, and pardoned several times.[10]
Citations edit
- ^ CRISP 1961, p. 119.
- ^ Othen 2015, Chapter 5: L'Affair du Sud-Kasaï.
- ^ Mukenge Announces Kasai Government, Léopoldville: Belgian Congo Home Service, 16 June 1960
- ^ Nzongola-Ntalaja 2007, p. 105.
- ^ Packham 1996, p. 90.
- ^ Young 1965, p. 396.
- ^ Packham 1996, p. 111.
- ^ Young 1965, p. 347.
- ^ Lettre ouverte au Citoyen Président 1980.
- ^ a b Kisangani & Bobb 2009, p. 396.
References edit
- Congo 1960. Les Dossiers du C.R.I.S.P. (in French). Brussels: Centre de recherche et d'information socio-politiques. 1961. OCLC 490898702.
- Kisangani, Emizet Francois; Bobb, Scott F. (2009). Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6325-5.
- "Lettre ouverte au Citoyen Président-Fondateur du Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution, Président de la République, par un groupe de parlementaires" (PDF). Kinshasa. 1 November 1980.
- Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges (2007). The Congo, From Leopold to Kabila: A People's History (3rd ed.). New York: Palgrave. ISBN 978-1-84277-053-5.
- Othen, Christopher (2015). Katanga 1960–63: Mercenaries, Spies and the African Nation that Waged War on the World (illustrated ed.). The History Press. ISBN 9780750965804.
- Packham, Eric S. (1996). Freedom and Anarchy (illustrated ed.). New York: Nova Publishers. ISBN 9781560722328.
- Young, Crawford (1965). Politics in the Congo: Decolonization and Independence. Princeton: Princeton University Press. OCLC 307971.